LURAY, RICHMOND, Va. — A historic home built in the 1700s is getting new life through rehabilitation in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley. The White House Farm, sitting on 270 acres of land next to the Shenandoah River, is undergoing restoration while archaeologists search for artifacts around the property.
"As the stabilization is taking place, we are here where they have moved soil that was in place and we are screening it to look for artifacts to see if what we're finding today is matching up with what we found 10 years ago," Carole Nash with the Archaeological Society of Virginia told WHSV.
Nash explains that this is one of the great stone houses of the Page Valley, with distinctive architectural features.
"It is what we call a German Flurküchenhaus design, which means it is a design that dates back to the medieval period in Germany," Nash explained. "It is very much like the other houses here in the valley. It has a barrel roof cellar, it has a floor plan that is very much focused on the family itself."
Similar houses exist throughout Page County, locally known as "the forts." However, Nash clarifies a common misconception about their purpose.
"They date to the period of the French and Indian war, and there is a mistaken assumption that they were built as fortifications against attack when really this is an old, old German design," Nash said.
Volunteers have been carefully screening soil outside the home, discovering various items that provide glimpses into daily life centuries ago.
"We have animal bone from their meals, we have ceramics, their dishes, we have paned glass from the windows. You get the image of a family here in place making their way out here what at that time was the frontier," Nash said.
Through handling artifacts untouched for about 200 years, Nash has also learned more about the environmental history of the area. The restoration of White House Farm is expected to be completed next year.
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